Dear Friends,
In a letter to his friend Jean Baptiste Le Roy on 13th November 1789
the great American printer, statesman and scientist Benjamin Franklin wrote
:-
“But in this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death
and taxes.”
As we reflect upon the petrol crisis of September with its extraordinary
tax revolt we realise that there are still occasions when resignation to
taxes can turn to anger and popular resentment. Had he lived today
Benjamin Franklin would have been a fascinated observer of the political
ramifications which are no doubt unfolding as you read these words.

However, the Church has reason to be grateful to the tax-man this year.
The new system of “Gift-Aid” enables the Church quickly and simply to recover
tax on any donations. All the donor has to do is to sign a form with
his name, address and post-code and a confirmation that he pays tax and
the church can do the rest. One form is sufficient and can enable
tax to be collected back to last April.

In the past we have found a great reluctance to enable tax recovery
through the old system of Covenants. These legal agreements demanded
an identifiable amount over four years and in a climate of economic uncertainty
many were reluctant to enter into such a commitment. Now that this
has been removed there should be no such fears. Do remember that
you do not need to be in “paid work” to pay tax – tax is often deducted
from pensions, dividends, interest on investment and other income.

We have written to all in our stewardship scheme giving them the necessary
form. Please return these as soon as possible. We are also
writing to those we feel may be interested in joining our scheme but would
be delighted for people to take the initiative themselves (telephone 347231,
345091 or 346134). One-off donations are also most welcome
and can be made in special envelopes containing a form with the necessary
information. Quantities of these are available at the back of church.

At the same time we must address the amount that we give to our church.
It now costs over £1,000 a week to run St Guthlac’s. This is
the basic cost and excludes any special projects. It has been a source
of great disappointment that our average weekly giving per person has only
been £3.08. The National Average in 1998 was £4.50
(a figure then insufficient for the Church’s needs). There is some
heartening news in that amounts claimed under the first Gift Aid forms
in the Diocese have averaged well over £5 week. With this new
initiative we have another opportunity to review our giving. As a
parish we can hardly claim to be in a deprived area and, although people’s
circumstances vary widely, we have a good cross-section of the local
community. It is hard to understand why on average our giving is
so low.

All of this is about whether we are “maintenance” or “mission” orientated.
At the moment we struggle with the maintenance. Resources for mission
including charitable giving to the wider church and those in need inevitably
suffer. In order to be effective we must be properly equipped and
greater resources could lead to some very exciting initiatives indeed.

If we reflect upon Benjamin Franklin’s shrewd observation about death
and taxes we realise that the Church has a great deal to say on both.
As far as death is concerned we reflect upon the salvation from earthly
death that Our Lord’s death and resurrection have won. As far as
taxes, we can approved a just use of them for the public good and seize
those opportunities the tax-man has given us to “siphon” some back”
to work for God’s kingdom. At the same time let us look at
the level of our giving in the light of our own circumstances and the needs
of our church.

Yours sincerely,

Derek Earis

With best wishes,

Derek Earis

St HughThe Dean and Chapter
of Lincoln invite Churches and parishes to bring pilgrimage groups to Lincoln
Cathedral on Saturday !8th November to celebrate the Octocentenary of St.Hugh.
Individual Christians are equally welcome.
The day includes:
Prayer Pilgrimages through the Cathedral lasting forty minutes and
ending at St.Hugh’s Shrine. These take place every fifteen minutes
from 10am – 12.45pm.
Seminar on ARCIC II, ‘The Gift of Authority’, led by Mgr. Professor
Adelbert Denaux from the University of Leuven and Diocese of Bruges.
Ecumenical Pilgrimage Service in the nave of the Cathedral at 2.30.
The principal speaker will be Cardinal Edward Cassidy, President of the
Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity (Rome). There will
be seating for all those present.
As a parish, we shall be attending this event and would like to hear
from anyone who would like to join us but has not yet put their name on
the list at the back of Church. Please ring the Rectory (342237)
to have your name included. Suitable transport arrangements will
be worked out when we have final numbers.

MOTHERS' UNIONAs we do not have a regular meeting in August, a Coffee & Dessert
Evening held at the Rectory provided an enjoyable social occasion.
This month the speaker is Michelle Williamson from the Voluntary Service
Department of Peterborough Hospitals NHS Trust, who was originally due
to visit us in June 1999. However, pressure of work led to two postponements,
so we are all looking forward to welcoming her on the 19th at 7.30pm in
the Green School to hear about the varied work of the hospital volunteers.

The Bishop of Lincoln, Rt. Revd. Robert Hardy, will give the address
at this year’s Deanery Lunch. The members of Thurlby Branch are the
hosts and the meal will be held on Tuesday 17th October

LADIES GUILDThe October meeting of the Ladies Guild will be held as usual at 8pm.
in the Green School on Tuesday 24th October. Mark Smith will be giving
an illustrated talk on his recent trip to Peru. He was taking part in a
sponsored walk to raise funds for the Children’s Society. Mark will be
sharing these experiences with us, so do come along and join us.
Please contact any member of the committee listed below for details.
Kay Roberts (344480), Glenys Whittle (343277), Julie Bacon (342737),
Jean Jones (344631), Gwen Wass (344311), Heather Dawson (346574) or Diane
Downes (344680).

WILLIAM HILDYARD SCHOOL NEWS

Visit to the Dome: The school has tickets to take a group of Y3,
4 & 5 children to the Dome on Friday 20th October. We look forward
to hearing about this very special day when they return. Vouchers
are also available entitling parents to 3 free children’s tickets when
they purchase two full priced adult tickets. These can be found in
the entrance hall.

Open Morning: An Open Morning has been planned for pre-school parents
on Tuesday 10th October. You will be able to meet staff and governors
and see and learn about what the School and Nursery have to offer.
For further details please telephone the School Secretary, Mrs Roche on
343119.